16 May 2011

Review: Tyler, the Creator "Goblin"

This. Is. A. Very. Weird. Person. I'm not even on the OFWGKTA bandwagon like the youth (it still takes me a minute to remember what the hell that acronym even means) and I have yet to hear a song that they've put out. However, I know who some of the members are (some being Frank Ocean and Tyler, lol) and I've seen numerous articles about them on various blogs and sites, so I'm not completely in the dark. However, after listening to Tyler, the Creator's album, I can say that as of this moment, I am only interested in him. Some of his cohorts are featured on the latter tracks on the album and although they can rhyme on beat, that proves to be all that they can do.

Tyler admits to not being the best rapper out there, or even "that great," as he explains in the middle of the very first track. He will not let you deny his coolness, however. I can't, either. He is cool, but very disturbed. I found myself caught between being amazed at the awesome simplicity of the beats and confused as to exactly what he was trying to get across. At numerous points throughout the album, Tyler makes it a point to say that he and his group are not horror-core artists. I don't know if he is trying to prove that more to himself or to his fan base, because a lot of the content is definitely seedy, grotesque, and strange. That's not to say that I didn't like what I heard however. It just seems that he hasn't quite gotten ahold of who he is as an artist, which is fine: he's only 20.

Like I said, a lot of the beats are basic and seemingly easy to produce. However, the tracks seem to go along great with the lyrics in a song. Ultimately, I have very little or very few complaints about Tyler, his flow, his content, his substance and his ideals. I've listened to a couple of interviews in which Tyler states that basically, he is just doing this because he likes rap, and likes having fun. Unfortunately, a lot of people are taking his lyrics and his wordplay way out of context. Tyler has a lot to learn about the industry.

Would I recommend this album to my fellow hip-hop heads? No. Would I trash this album? No. I think that anybody who could possibly become a fan of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is already up on the group. I have to admit that I am actually very surprised at the fact that I like this album, and I like it a lot. Will Tyler be in my top 100 emcees of all time? No. However, for what it is, and for what it's worth, I think that this is a very well put together album. That being said, I think this would've been much better as a mixtape.

Throughout the course of the album, Tyler is fighting constantly with his inner demon in the form of a psychiatrist/sub conscience He is trying find a way to come to grips with who he is as a person and what really makes him take. I like the approach, already sold on the album lyrics, but I'm not completely sold on the overall package. All in all, if I had to give this a rating of any sort, I would actually give this album a 3/5. I'm sure that surprises a lot of the readers; it definitely surprises me.